Screaming Target

by Big Youth

Overview

Achieving his first success on wax with "S 90 Skank" for producer Keith Hudson in 1972, Big Youth recorded Screaming Target, his debut full-length, one year later for Gussie Clarke. That album, along with a handful of 45s from the period, was largely responsible for bringing the DJ art form forward after U-Roy's innovations. Here, in place of hip, jive-derived phrases, listeners find Big Youth ruminating on themes that exemplified the new consciousness of the 1970s. The set-opening title track, for instance, finds the DJ promoting literacy and general positivity, Youth-style, over K.C. White's "No No No." Similarly, he chants down slavery and calls for equal pay for equal work on "Honesty." Elsewhere, "Tippertong Rock" is a misspelled reference to the sound system that the DJ got his start on, Lord Tippertone Hi-Fi. Many of roots reggae's most innovative releases emerged from the studios of young producers intent on rivaling established businessmen like Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, and Prince Buster, and Screaming Target is no exception. Clarke was but 18 when he began producing and 20 when he oversaw the sessions for this album. The rhythm selection is superb throughout, including Leroy Smart's "Pride and Ambition," Gregory Isaacs' "One One Coco Fill Basket," and Lloyd Parks' "Slaving," and Big Youth's toasts are a pure joy to listen to. Unfortunately, Trojan decided to separate the mix for the 1989 issue, sending Youth's toasts to the left channel and the rhythm track to the right, resulting in a rather unbalanced listening experience, depending upon your proximity to the speakers. That aside, the music on this release is simultaneously a benchmark for reggae in general and the DJ form in particular -- and a classic of recorded music, regardless of the genre. ~ Nathan Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	08/06/2021
Label:	Clocktower Records
UPC:	0061297734160
Rank:	34395

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Big Youth   Primary Artist,Vocals,Percussion
Simplicity People   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Glen Brown   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Roman Stewart   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Lloyd Parks   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Leroy Smart   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
The Society Squad   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Gregory Isaacs   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Augustus Pablo   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Dennis Brown   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Augustus Pablo & the Simplicity People   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
K.C. White   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

A. Clarke   Producer,Arranger,Producer
Allan Clarke   Composer
Augustus "Gussie" Clarke   Composer,Producer
Bob Marley   Composer
Billy Joel   Composer
Gregory Isaacs   Composer
Errol Thompson   Engineer
Horace Hinds   Composer
Dennis Brown   Composer
K.C. White   Composer
Karl Pitterson   Engineer
Lacelle "Wiss" Bulgin   Composer
Syd Bucknor   Engineer
Big Youth   Composer
Lloyd Parks   Composer,Producer
Roman Stewart   Composer
Glen Brown   Composer,Producer
Eugene Dixon   Composer
Ralph Dobson   Composer